May 11

May 11 was cold and rainy. But our newest garden enemy didn't mind the bad weather. When my husband made the new fields, he mixed earth from by the river. Gorgeous black soil. Which we now know was full of seeds of these weeds that are like little needles. So sharp, I actually pricked my finger on one. I think the black plastic my prove to be useless this year.

Here is our main pumpkin patch in it's full expanse. Jack 'o Lantern in the front. An empty space for future pumpkins. Kabocha and Howden in the next group with the corn. And at the very rear, out of view, Cinderella. Cucumbers along the fence.
And the Jack Be Little mini pumpkins are planted in front of the classroom. I plan to grow them up to the roof of the classroom.
Two artichokes, planted near the tomatoes.
The strawberry patch, which is a bit of a disaster, really, we will have to redo it in the winter. It is not raised, so they get all muddy and eaten by insects from below. It is nice to have the neighbor's azaleas growing through our fence. Watermelon in the foreground. The okra is going to go here this year.
One of my three shades of purple iris.
These pretty little purple flowers by the driveway are about to bloom.
I tried sweet peas for the first time. The blossoms are pretty, but the bottom half of the plants are totally brown. I think I need to do them in bigger planters, they get dried out too quickly.
My husband took this photo of a bee. We are lucky to have quite a few bees. If only we didn't have so many evil bugs!

garden July 11

We are leaving for the US tomorrow and so I want to have a basis of comparison for when we get back on August 18. I got about half of the spare tomatoes potted. I have lost all but three of the big tomato plants (2 Evergreens and a Cherokee Purple survive) to some sort of wilt, it might be the yasude eating the roots, but the roots look really strong. I don't know what it was.
Cherry tomatoes front left, edamame in the middle, a few remaining large tomatoes and some basil and green beans back right, shiso shiso everywhere on the right. The Black Plum are the strongest survivors of my tomatoes, unfortunately they have kind of a mealy texture and are really best for cooking. The sugar lumps are going strong and I still have two Reisentraubes which are the tastiest. I lost my original Sweet Orange II and Chadwicks Cherry but second generation plants are doing well.
A large shiso thicket front left, behind it are more cherry tomatoes, behind that (not visible) eggplant and peppers. Cucumbers back right, cosmos front right.
Watermelon in front, okra, zucchini (2 second generation plants not visible).
Two zucchinis, lots more shiso surrounding the carrot patch, and 3 surviving large tomato plants at the back

vegetables

Cinderella pumpkins are getting quite big. This photo was taken 3 days ago, and after all the rain it's even bigger now. How does one know if a pumpkin is ready to pick???Ants are very attracted to the okra flower buds. It doesn't seem to be doing much harm, but is curious.
I have chopped off the older sections of my two remaining zucchini that were no longer producing viable flowers. The new stems seem to be hanging in the through the rains, but I am not sure if we will ever get any more zucchini out of them or the three new plants.
My husband's method of protecting a baby watermelon from the floods.
Reisentraube tomatoes, I get one or two ripe ones a day now.
Black plum, also one or two a day.Edamame are coming along and you can see sweet orange II and Chadwick's cherry tomatoes in the background. Of the cherry tomatoes I think the sweet orange II and gold currant are the best. I am not sure about Reisentraube because my younger daughter eats them all.

Vegetables

It has been blazing hot this week and I am a bit frustrated because I really want to spend more time in the garden, but between about 10:30-3:30, when I have time, it is just too stinking hot. From the time I get up until about 10:30 I am busy getting everyone fed, dressed, off to school, walked, laundry, etc. And from 3:30...picked up from school, walked, changed, snacked and then M insists upon going to the park every day to work on her monkey bars (and see her friends). Oh how I resent those 2 hours of prime gardening time spent pushing L on the swings and rescuing M when she monkey bars too high. Then back home to cook, feed, bath, etc, and it's dark. They love it, but I wish we could get a jungle gym in our yard. Too bad they don't seem to sell them here like in the US. Anyway, here are some photos from yesterday.
My crazy husband has planted the next generation of cucumbers. I managed to force my students' mothers to take home 30+ today. He does realize that the overlap between first and second generations will happen while the girls and I are in the US and he will be responsible for 25 cucumbers/day all by himself, but yet...he plants them. The rose of sharon (mallow?) trees along the fence are starting to bloom. They have grown so fast. They were foot long dead sticks only 2 years ago. I hear they are particularly good for fighting air pollution, so we planted them along the west fence facing the big road. We aren't nearly as rural as our photos may make it seem, and air pollution is a problem. There are some cosmos blooming in this photo as well. And the lemon grass (sticking out from the left) LOVES being next to the compost bin.
Eggplants are coming along really well. So well, that I am glad we only have 3 plants. You can see some of the sugar lump mini tomatoes in the background.
I tried to take a photo of my single reddening Reisentraube tomato for Mr. Wignall, but it is in a rather inaccessible place. Hopefully some of the others will ripen before we leave and I can tell you how they taste.
Shiso Shiso and more Shiso. I have to start actually using it. I think I will make shiso gyoza this week.
Watermelon (left), okra (center), no-longer-producing zucchini (right) and some marigolds. Strawberry patch and gladiolus in the back. These were not really meant to be an attempt at companion gardening, we just didn't have anywhere to put the watermelons. So far so good, as long as the watermelons don't attempt to climb...
Cinderella pumpkin is getting big and turning orange. Now if I could only find a cool dry place to store it until October...

flowers

Pink glads are blooming.
Bets now open: watermelon, okra or marigolds? Or can they all just get along together nicely?
White balloon flower at the back, can hardly be seen. Must remember to move it in the winter.
Purple balloon flower.
Forget-me-nots from freebie seeds my mother gave me (thanks, Mom!)
Red spapdragons, I think. Oh, Vicky told me what these are and now I've forgotten.
Pink lily also hidden behind many taller plants. Must remember to move in the winter. Must remember. Must remember long enough to tell my daughter when she comes home from school today so that she can remind me...Need to plant more forget-me-nots. Can I make forget-me-not tea?

and in non-tomato related news...

Our first mallow/rose of sharon (I'm not sure what the difference is or what this is) flower bloomed.

Our first baby watermelon.
Our first baby okra.
The pumpkin patch is headed for the hills. Howden on the bottom, then Cinderella, kabocha at the top.
I am hoping the blackberries will be ripe before we leave for the US. Raspberries are almost finished.
Lemon grass is thriving next to the compost on the right. Lettuce is going to seed.
Speaking of seeds, my husband planted a mango seed and we are eager to see what happens. He says Japan is turning into a tropical island, but not tropical enough I fear.

vegetable flowers

My daughters' books say that bees collect pollen on their legs. This one seems to be more into the whole body experience. We are grateful, of course, however they choose to pollinate.

pumpkin flower
eggplant flower
green pepper flower
okra flower
cherry tomato flower
tomato flower
watermelon flower

vegetables

I am starting new tomato plants from side shoots whenever they escape my notice long enough to get big. I just stick them in fine sand from the sandbox, put them in a mostly shady spot, water them regularly and they grow strong enough roots to transplant within a few weeks. I am planting these new tomatolings in pots because...
though I am still in denial, I am pretty sure my tomatoes have fusarium wilt. Horrors! I have had to pull several plants and several more are looking peaked. This is a Black Krim. I cut off one of the leaf stems today and the inside is not yet affected, but I think it is probably inevitable.
A close up of the stem. Not good, right?
The cucumbers are booming. My husband removed all the baby cucumbers and gave the vines a good trim last week. It is looking like we will be drowning in cucumbers in a few days. The green beans in the foreground are also producing nicely. They have become a new target of the evil orange bugs, but so far are going strong.
The watermelon almost succumbed to aphids in the beginning, but after consistent spraying with diluted dishsoap seems to be making a recovery.
The three remaining zucchini plants are also still producing despite their white bumpy stem disease (I think that is the scientific name for it!)